00:00Did you know that since 1959, the U.S. Navy has had aquatic animals in their employ?
00:04Insider reports that both dolphins and sea lions, two highly trainable marine mammals,
00:09have been used for everything from equipment retrieval to locating and disabling underwater mines.
00:14The use of the animals for the latter, a dangerous endeavor, was supposed to end this year.
00:18But without a technological replacement that could equal the sea creature's innate abilities,
00:22Congress voted to continue to use the animals until a sufficient tech-based underwater mine disabling device was developed.
00:28But it begs the question, what can a dolphin or a sea lion do that an underwater drone can't?
00:32Well, dolphins have a natural sonar that is actually more accurate than our electronic variety.
00:37And sea lions are extremely good at spotting mines or noticing enemy personnel underwater,
00:41utilizing their highly attuned whiskers and eyes, meaning each might see things we miss and can also do so at a greater depth.
00:48Sea lions can dive down some 900 feet underwater.
00:51Meanwhile, dolphins can go deeper than a thousand.
00:53But a lot of their work is security-related, as the Battalion of Oceanic Mammals are constantly swimming around Navy Yards,
00:59ensuring there aren't any enemy saboteurs readying an attack.
01:02So what happens to these marine mammals if the program ends?
01:05Well, the Navy says they will remain in their care for the rest of their lives,
01:08as at least dolphins released back into the wild tend not to fare too well.
01:12So what happens to these animals?
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